Plusquellic, Pry declare March ‘Enroll’ Month

AKRON — With the March 31 deadline for enrollment in a Health Care Marketplace plan approaching, Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic and Summit County Executive Russ Pry have designated March as “Enroll Akron” and “Enroll Summit County” month.

“Many of our residents forgo health care to buy necessities, such as shelter, food and clothing,” said Plusquellic. “The Affordable Care Act will help our residents get the medical care they need. Our residents should not have to choose between food and their health and the health of their families.”

“Medical services provided by the Affordable Care Act are important for all ages, especially for our youngest citizens,” said Pry. “We know a healthy child learns faster and grows stronger, giving them a great advantage in life.”

All plans in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace cover essential health benefits and pre-existing conditions. To find information about the Marketplace, go to www.HealthCare.gov. At this website, residents can learn how the marketplace works, who can apply for insurance, how to get insurance, how to lower your costs, and more.

In addition, Summit County Public Health, Akron General Medical Center and the city of Akron have coordinated to offer several events:

today, March 13, and March 27, Akron General Medical Center, Main Lobby;

The winning ticket will be drawn June 5 at 10:30 a.m. at Alexander Park on West Market Street. The winner will have until the end of June to meet with this year’s landscape designers and project managers, Lisa Graf and Craig Graf, of Graf Growers Garden Center and Landscape Design, to create a plan for the landscape transformation the week of Aug. 4-8.

The grand-prize winner may choose to make over the front or backyard of his or her property. In addition to the grand-prize ticket, there are three runner-up prizes, which include 4 yards of mulch or compost blown into landscaped beds by TerraScape, a birdbath donated by Suncrest Gardens and a basket of gardening supplies, courtesy of Graf Growers.

State helps Ohioans living with HIV/AIDS

OHIO — Three nonprofit organizations, including one in Akron, have received $1.2 million in funding to support housing opportunities for Ohioans living with AIDS or HIV. The grants will be used to provide short-term rental, mortgage and utility assistance, support community housing and case management services. Nearly 4,000 Ohioans will be helped through the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Program grants, according to state officials.

Community AIDS Network will receive $220,000 to operate the Community AIDS Housing and Support Project that serves Portage and Summit counties. The funding will support the operation of Micah House and Harmony Place and provide short-term rental assistance and some case management. The grant will help 327 people.

The Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Program is a federal program administered by the Ohio Development Services Agency.

Bath Business Association initiates scholarship

BATH — For the past two years, the Bath Business Association (BBA) has sponsored the Bath Community Garage Sale, with proceeds from that sale used as monetary awards to Revere High School business class students in the annual Business Plan competition.

This year, members of the BBA approved expanding that outreach to young people through an annual scholarship for a graduating senior from Bath planning to pursue a business-related major in an accredited college, university or technical school.

“The mission statement of the BBA is to promote and encourage business in Bath,” said Don Corbett, chair of the BBA’s Scholarship Committee. “What better way to do this with the next generation of entrepreneurs than to provide a scholarship to help them achieve their business education.”

In addition to living in Bath and planning to study a business-related major, the recipient should have at least a 2.5 grade point average. Also, extracurricular activities, community involvement and work experience during high school will be an important part of the selection process, according to BBA officials.

The scholarship amount this year is $500, but the BBA has tied future scholarship awards to the proceeds from the annual Bath Community Garage Sale.

“We are confident, given the past history of the success of this sale, that we can increase this award to at least $1,000 in the years ahead,” said BBA President Ken Baldwin.

The scholarship application is available through the Revere High School Guidance Office for students at Revere High School. Students attending other high schools or who are home schooled can find the application online at www.bathbusinessassociation.com, or copies will be available at The Bake Shop in Ghent, 800 Wye Road, during regular business hours.

The application deadline is April 24, and the winner will be notified no later than June. For details, call 330-666-3347.

ACS urges increased colon cancer screening

GREATER AKRON — While a combination of earlier detection and better treatments have yielded a steady decline in the colorectal cancer death rate in the past 20 years, colorectal cancer will kill an estimated 50,310 people in the U.S. in 2014, including 2,140 in Ohio, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).

During March, National Colon Cancer Awareness Month, the ACS is highlighting the need to do more to save lives from the nation’s third leading cause of cancer death in both men and women by urging patients and their doctors to talk about the importance of colorectal cancer screening, which is recommended for people at average risk beginning at age 50.

“Although screening guidelines differ for some cancers, this is not the case for colorectal cancer,” said Dr. Richard Wender, chief cancer control officer for the ACS and chair of the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable. “All guidelines recommend screening with either colonoscopy every 10 years or a stool test at home every year, and the benefit of screening is clear. Colon cancer screening accomplishes two things — it prevents colon cancers from developing by removing polyps, and it detects cancers early when it is highly curable.”

More than one in three adults 50 and older are not being screened as recommended for colorectal cancer, according to society officials. The ACS recommends that most people begin regular screening at age 50. People at higher risk, such as those with a family history of colon cancer, might need to start screening earlier.

“A great number of people do not understand that there are choices for being screened,” Wender added. “If patients are offered a choice among several screening options, then we can increase the chance they will get screened. As we like to say: the best test for you is the one you get.”

The society recommends the following colorectal cancer screening tests:

Tests that detect precancerous polyps and cancer:

√ flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years;

√ colonoscopy every 10 years;

√ double contrast barium enema every five years; or

√ CT colonography every five years.

Tests that primarily detect cancer include:

√ yearly guaiac-based fecal occult blood test with high test sensitivity for cancer (older versions of the Fecal Occult Blood Test should not be used to test for colorectal cancer);

√ yearly fecal immunochemical test with high test sensitivity for cancer; or

√ Stool DNA test.

Tests that detect precancerous polyps allow doctors to remove the polyps and potentially prevent cancer altogether. And while cancers detected at the earliest stage have a five-year survival rate of 90 percent, only 40 percent of colon cancers are currently detected at this stage, partly because too few people are screened, according to ACS officials.